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Ezra walks in panting as though he has been running and I give him a little shake of my head. Him stepping in is the last thing I need right now.
I’m surprised to see one of the security guards enter after him, he too is panting.
I look down at my bagel just as Pax looks behind him.
I’m surprised when he’s able to school his features and demeanor toward our boss. “Mr. Conti, it’s been a while.”
“It sure has, mind if I join you?” Ezra asks and a muscle ticks in Pax’s jaw. He sits beside me, casual and relaxed as Pax regards him and then me. He looks so handsome today in a white button-up and gray pants. He discarded his jacket this morning but kept his blue tie, I don’t know where that is now.
I’m hoping he hasn’t taken it off because he anticipated a fight.
Still… he looks so good. A welcome distraction in this mess of a situation.
It was hard to keep my hands to myself, but I buried myself in my work and stayed out of his office. When I did go in his office, I left the door open and opened the blinds. He barely even looked up from his desk. We haven’t spoken about last night either.
I lay awake all night wondering if he was going to tell his wife and wondering if I was about to be dragged out of bed by his mother.
I’m almost looking forward to going home, just to get away from all the people I have betrayed. But now, taking this situation into consideration, I’m wondering if going home is possible.
“What have you been doing lately, Pax?” Ezra asks, a smirk on his face and I notice that he has shaved just the edges of the stubble he’s been growing the past few days. He looks so good with a beard.
“Just working,” Pax replies, and I startle when Ezra reaches across and picks something out of the back of my hair. I’m not sure there was anything in there. What is he playing at?
Pax shifts uncomfortably. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty to be getting on with, Mr. Conti. I’ll have Rose back to her desk in no time.”
“I’m good here.” Ezra glares at Pax, a clear challenge if I ever saw one.
Pax looks at me, pleading with me with his eyes but then it dawns on him. “You told him to come.”
“I told him I’d be late, I didn’t tell him to come,” I respond honestly. “You make me nervous, Pax.”
“You’re also prohibited from coming within a hundred yards of her.” Ezra flicks a piece of something from his arm. He’s so chilled out. “You’ve gone against work rules.”
“I’m not in the building.”
“It doesn’t apply to only within the building,” Ezra seethes, pulling my seat back with one hand, with me in it. “I’m going to escort Ms. Sinclair back to her desk, you’re going to stay away from her, or I’ll fire you. Is a woman really worth your job? You’re the best PR manager that we have ever had. Don’t ruin a good thing.”
“Is she really worth your marriage?” Pax hisses, narrowing his eyes on Ezra who tenses beside me. “Is she worth your life?”
“Is that a threat?”
They sneer at each other for a moment longer until Pax stands and tips the table just enough to spill both the drinks our way. The table slams back down and Ezra and I pull back from the spill as his security guard grabs Pax by the back of the neck and drags him from the building.
“Thought you weren’t fucking him, Rose?” he yells over his shoulder as I use napkins to wipe the coffee that spilled all over my lap. Thank heavens it wasn’t hot.
“He’s disturbed,” Ezra mutters and thanks the barista as they bring over cloths for us to clean up with. He looks at me and takes my hand in his. “Are you alright?”
I pick up my phone and show him the shattered screen. “Nope.”
“You need to report this to the police.”
“Yep,” I whisper, still holding his hand. “I stink of coffee.”
“Me too.” He guides me out of the deli with a hand at my back. “Let’s get cleaned up.”
“You have that method meeting in less than two hours.”
“Fuck the meeting, Rose. You’re shaking.”
He’s right, I am shaking. “He scares me.”
“I want you to stay at my mom’s place for a while longer. Until you’re safe.”
If he wasn’t married, he’d have been able to stay with me. “I’ll be fine.” My words are a lie, I’m not sure I will be fine, but I can’t live with his parents forever, not while this guilt consumes me from the inside out.
“Please,” he begs on a whisper. “Just until we figure this out. I’ll get my dad to call the mayor, pull a few strings and hopefully get him locked up where he belongs.”
